crank into the lower 80s. 38 for reagan national airport. warmer to the south and off to the west but winds will stay out of the west today so it's going to feel quite warm and comfortable. right now we're sitting in the 60s in the city center. cooler 50s off to the north and west. we'll definitely see an opportunity for those showers later on today. code green for today, tomorrow, and friday, but once we get into thursday and friday, we're going to keep overcast skies not only the first to days but clear into the weekend. so the seven-day forecast will feature a bit after cooldown as we strip those winds out of the north and northeast for friday and saturday. wet road conditions always concern me, especially early in the morning when everybody is traveling a little faster than normal because the roads are light. be aware of some wet road conditions. keep your speed limits down right now. no problems to report on the west side of town. as you cross the american legion bridge, gw parkway down toward tysons and annandale, you'll be fine.

we'll take a live look at the legion bridge. no problems crossing the river. the roads are a little wet so again keep your speed limit down if you can. let's go back over to our maps. this time we'll head over to the other side of town. no issues to report in southern maryland on route 4, route 5, route 301, 210 accokeek to oxon hill across the wilson bridge. we'll go there live right now in alexander alexandria near route 1. volumes are light again. i'll be back with more traffic at 5:09. pepco customers may need to start rooting for a long stretch of good weather. >> or stock up on batteries. that's because today the crews who repair the down lines during severe weather are going to vote on whether or not they're going on strike. kristin fisher is live outside pepco headquarters with more on where we stand now with this. good morning, kristin. >> reporter: good morning. what we're talking about is an ongoing contract dispute between pepco and its union employees, the linemen, the heck trixes. today those -- electricians. today those employees are going

to vote on whether or not to accept what pepco is calling their last best and final offer. if the employees do indeed vote no which is what their union leaders are asking them to do, then they could strike or pepco could declare a lockout. if it happen it is will be the first strike at the power company in 27 years. the two sides have been in negotiations for the last five months. in fact, they've already extended the current contract four times. but after 51 meetings, even with help from a federal mediator, they're still at an impasse. pepco calls the latest offer generous but the local president jim griffin calls it, quote, ridiculous. >> i think the mood is angry. the company wants to take over control of our health and welfare benefits. there's no reason for it. they want it eliminate a major portion of our seniority rights. there's no reason for it. they want to hire part-time employees in our call center

which we believe will affect customer service. >> reporter: what would a strike mean for pepco customers? and that customer service? pepco is saying customers would not notice any changes in service or repairs if the workers walk out. they say they have hundreds of contractors on standby ready to help in case of big power outages due to severe weather. union leaders say that plan will not work. i will let them explain why they think it won't work coming up in half an hour at 5:30. mike, andrea? >> thank you, kristin live outside pepco headquarters. we'll stay tuned to this one, that's for sure. fairfax county police still haven't released the names of a her don family found dead -- herndon family found dead in their homes. officers removed four bodies. neighbors tell 9news a married couple with two sons lived there. one son was in high school. the other in middle school. police say they wt to the home after calls from the man and woman's employers saying they hadn't shown up to work.

investigators believe this is a murder-suicide. neighbors say they lost saw the family outside on sunday. d.c. police have spent the night at the scene of a murder in southeast washington. officers found one victim shot in the head in the 5000 block of h street. this happened just about 11:30 last night. but that person was conscious when taken to the hospital. a short distance away officers found the body of another victim. so far there's no word on any suspects or a possible motive in the case. police are looking for more possible victims of an accused child rapist. investigators say this man kirk yancey posed as a 17-year-old boy online where he met a 14- yard girl whom he -- 14-year- old girl whom he later slept with. police seancey told her after he slept with -- yancey told her after he slept with her he was 24. he's actually 34. he arranged yet another meeting with that girl. he's a special police officer

at washington hospital center. now police are asking anyone who had a similar experience to please contact them. prince george's county police say three people are in custody for trying to steal copper in clinton, maryland. police caught the suspects in the act as they were trying to steal copper wire from a closed giant grocery store. increased demand is leading to a nationwide run of thefts on copper wire. it is 5:05. time for the latest your money report of the morning. >> jessica doyle is here with a look at things. good morning, jess. >> good morning. unfortunately wall street just saw the biggest sell-off in three months. we're hoping for better days dacht the pullback came after a federal reserve official says he doubts the banks' efforts to boost the economy will actually work. of course investors didn't like hearing that. checking the numbers the dow stands at 13,457, dropped 101 points in trading yesterday. nasdaq had a rough day, too, down 43 points. the s&p 500 was down by 15. super hero costumes are

expected to be big this halloween and the spending is expected to be pretty big, too. consumers are likely to spend $8 billion over the next month on halloween according to a national retail federation survey. a record 170 million people or about 72% of americans are expected to observe the day. spending for the afternoon person will rise to just under 80 bucks this year. that's over $7 up from last year. meantime a new survey shows free checking is quickly becoming a thing of the past. bankrate.com finds just 39% of checking accounts don't charge fees. think back to three years ago. 76% of all checking accounts were free. the study also finds banks are charging higher atms and overdraft fees but we know that. >> it doesn't get any better. what do you have for us in the next half-hour? >> the outlook for your next flight. we're going to talk about what it's going to look like. >> sounds good.

a candidate at the center of election year controversy decides not to go away before november 6. that story is coming up. we'll also tell you which candidate is surging ahead in the latest presidential polls released just this morning. >> and ahead in sports, the nationals will have to try again tonight to make a dent in their magic number which remains at 5. we'll be right back.

welcome back at 5:08. we are definitely mild this morning. plenty of cloud cover and temperatures in the 60s. forecast for today is going to feature the overcast skies to start but we'll get some sunshine through midday and early afternoon. right now we are quiet on our doppler 9000. satellite and radar will pull in some more of that moisture as we head on through the day but at least our day planner is looking g. you'll need your sunglasses through the middle of the day. we'll build in cloud cover around the 4:00, 5:00 hour. we become mostly cloudy but before the temperature should hit -- before that, the temperature shoes hit lower 80s. i'm expecting a shower or maybe even a thunderstorm to move on through. we're just getting word of an issue possibly serious on the outer loop of the beltway between old georgetown road and 270 spur involving an overturned vehicle. here at river road things are find. i'll keep you posted on that situation coming up in my next report at 5:16.

back to you guys. >> see you then. making news now at 5:10 this morning, two large explosions shook the capital city of syria this morning. the blast in damascus were near the military's general staff headquarters. a government official says there's only superficial damage but there are reports after large file and gun battle with antigovernment rebels. both presidential candidates are campaigning in ohio today. a new poll shows republican mitt romney has some catching up to do there. the poll shows president obama has opened up a significant lead in ohio, pennsylvania, and florida. but one bright spot for governor romney, the numbers are closer among voters who say they're paying close attention to the race. republican congressman todd akin defied the wishes of the national g.o.p. and did not drop out of the race in the missouri senate race. tuesday was the final deadline for him to do that. he was pressured to quit after his legitimate rape comments last month but he says he owe it is to his supporters to stay in the race and fails off

against the democrat. we may not be able to read our pets' minds but some cat owners are getting a much better idea about what goes on when they go outside. that story is coming up at 5:56. >> at 5:22, the redskins play caller kyle shanahan owes some big dough after his encounter with the replacement refs? >> does a rainy weekend lay ahead in the seven-day forecast? we'll hear from olga breese.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. it's wednesday morning. 4:15. olga breese is in for howard bernstein. we had a wonderful stretch of weather. now we've got a little hiccup in the weather. >> we've got to take it all in stride. it's actually fairly mild this morning so we're thankful for that. temperatures are comfortable as you step on out. we have the overcast skies and you even want the sunglasses because we'll get some sunshine later on today. those are all pluses. on the down side, though, clouds will move in later on this afternoon and we will have an opportunity for some showers and storms late in the day, mainly the evening and overnight or early overnight period. right now, though, temperatures basically in the 60s. region wide fairly uniform temperatures because of that cloud cover outside right now. we will see our satellite and radar begin to build in some more cloud comp. we had some pops -- cover. we had some pops of that moisture, portions of west

virginia, northern virginia, just across the top of the beltway early other on this morning. most of that has moved off across the bay and will continue to slide on toward the east. as we continue with the southwest winds, more moisture coming in later on this afternoon. that will help us build back some of that cloud cover late in the day. kids heading out to the bus stop this morning don't need much with them. it will feel very comfortable in the 60s through the next several hours. then we'll slowly inch through the 70s through midday. here's what your planner has to say. mainly sunny skies through midday. however, we will see temperatures push quickly through the 70s, even hit those lower 80s by the 5:00 hour. but you will notice after 5:00 till about sunset at 7:00, we will see clouds become mostly cloudy and futurecast is definitely trying to bring in the moisture. now the jury is out on whether much of that is going to hit the metro area t. is hit or miss so not all of us are going to get wet this afternoon but we will see the opportunity for that rain not only this afternoon but also in the forecast for thursday, friday,

yes, even saturday and into sunday. so it will be a fairly mild for us for today. in fact warm in the afternoon getting into those lower and middle range 80s. should see about 85 from leesburg, a little warmer down to the south for fredricksburg and down towards southern virginia. but definitely a pretty decent day for today. we're keeping everything in code green. it will be warm. this will be perhaps the warmest day of our seven-day stretch before the next system starts to move on closer and we shift our winds tomorrow. cloud cover is going to hold us back into the middle 70s. by thursday, even by friday we're still in the middle 70s but it's going to feel a lot cooler and a little more damp as the showers begin to move on through. then in the extended outlook, it looks like it's going to be a little bit messy as we get into our weekend forecast for saturday and sunday. we'll hold our temperatures into the lower 70s but as we slowly begin to shift those winds, we'll even see some clearing for our monday and tuesday forecast so things will

start to turn around by the beginning of next week. monika? >> thank you so much, olga. we already have a few issues in montgomery county. good morning, everybody. first of all i want to let you know there is an accident on the outer loop of the beltway right near old georgetown road. it's an overturned vehicle. now everything has been pushed to the right shoulder. but watch out for that activity on the outer oop near old george -- loop near old georgetown. you'll see slow traffic already because of an accident. they're trying to zoom into the accident on the southbound side of i-270 after route 118 in germantown. hopefully we'll have that for you next time around. southbound 270 after route 118 in germantown, sensor lane is blocked with the accident. there you go. you see the slow traffic trying to get past that activity here. let's go back over to our maps and this time we'll head over to the other side of town inbound i-66. no issues right now as you come in from centreville toward fairfax. this is leftover slow traffic from earlier construction. otherwise lanes are open right

now. a quick look live at the beltway and 66. you can see lanes are open. i'll be back with more on that accident on 270 at 5:24. back to you guys. the redskins pick up another running back to address some issues with injuries. >> the nationals get no closer to the division crown after falling to the phillys. highlights coming up in sports. >> the question of the daytime now. here it is again. the average -- on the average the more you do one of these things, the more money you tend to make. is it a, work, b, the more you read or c, the more degrees you earn? >> renee wrote on our wusa9 facebook fan page, i have to go with c even though i'm not sure if it's true anymore. >> log on to our facebook fan page. weld' love to hear what you think. -- we'd love to hear what

. we're off to a mild start. we'll see mostly cloudy skies, a bit of sunshine through midday and cloudy conditions this afternoon. we're keeping our conditions fairly sunny through midday. that will get us to a high near 8 3w. i'm expecting an -- 83. i'm expecting an opportunity for some late day showers and a thunderstorm to develop. nationals magic number to clinch the division is still five after a loss. >> kyle shanahan also learns his punishment when it comes to confronting those replacement refs as he chased them down the tunnel. dave owens has more in your morning sports.

good morning, everybody. a phrase you often hear when covering a mike shanahan press conference: you've got to keep your poise. oftentimes he's talking about his players, though. he might want to lecture his son. the n.f.l. has told players and coaches lay off the refs. kyle didn't on sunday and now he's paying the price. the younger shanahan fined $25,000 for his behavior at the end of sunday's loss when he got after refs at the conclusion of the bengals game. he admitted he lost his composure with the referees. now his pocket is a little bit lighter. skins get some running back help yesterday signing ryan brett rushing for almost 1300 yards in 2009 but injuries have limited him the last two seasons. redskins banged up at running back. here's hoping the phillies don't just sneak into the playoffs. five out of the last six times they've met with the nats phillies win but the magic

number is on the line. the lucky number going into last night was five. was philly a lucky city? every city is lucky for ryan zimmerman. the base knock. bryce harper comes around to score. carlos a luis had the magic stick. three-run shot. washington falling 6-3. atlanta winning so the magic number remaining at five. that's a quick look at sports. have a great wednesday, everybody. >> thanks, dave. are conditions getting worse or better for airline passengers? that's coming up in your next money report. >> i'm flying soon. plus today, pepco's line repair crews are voting on whether or not they will go on strike. monika is not on strike thankfully. she has traffic this morning. >> you'll need me here today. that's because there's this accident southbound i-270 at route 118. you see in the center of your screen there. it's causing delays at least

back at father hurley boulevard. southbound 270 trying to get past route 118 with the accident in the center of the road. i'll have more information coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. we'll be right back.

good morning. welcome back to 9news now. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck. thanks for joining us. felt like we had fall for a couple of days and now summer is back. >> good morning, monika. how are you? problems on the roadway because of your tropical like shower. >> everybody gets something they want this time of year. it's kind of the tug of war between fall and summer. fall wants to get its stranglehold but summer is not ready to let go yet. we have a pop of warm weather for today. so get your sunglasses. we'll see some sunshine later on today but then i think autumn is going to make a comeback as we head toward the

middle to end of the week. forecast for today is looking fairly calm. we started off with pops of moisture this morning. some wet pavement out there, wet conditions north of town. but so far it's been quiet in and around the beltway for the last hour or so. we will continue to see things calm on our doppler 9 thousand but conditions -- 9,000 but conditions will be fairly mild. we have the southwest winds pushing on through. the cloud cover has kempt us fairly -- kept us fairly mild. by noontime brilliant sunshine and we're into the middle 70s. we should top out into the lower 80s by about the 5:00 hour. then the moisture will start to move on through and showers and storms will begin to develop. not a bad start for today. again the highs are going to be quite warm so dress for that warm weather into the afternoon. code green today with just late day showers and thunderstorm opportunities. highs tomorrow a little bit milder. monika? 270 drivers are super unhappy this morning. that's because we've already had an accident on the southbound side of 270 as you travel through germantown.

you're going to see the effects of it. plus, there was this accident on the outer loop of the beltway right here at old georgetown road. that's sitting on the right shoulder. an overturned vehicle. although it's on the right shoulder, expect it to attract some attention. let's first take a look at 270 live from our mdot camera. southbound side after route 118. you can see the flashing lights right here. the activity is in the center of the road. apparently it involves two vehicles and it is pretty serious. you can see traffic is barely getting by right now. i believe mostly to the left here southbound 270 here at route 118. you've already got delays at least at father hurley boulevard. now let's go back over to our maps and again you've got that accident on the outer loop of the beltway at old georgetown road. let's take a look at our camera here at connecticut avenue. i believe the traffic is still moving at speed. still looks okay here. just watch out for that activity and scoot over to the left to let the authorities do what they need to do there. i'll be back with more at 5:38.

this morning a d.c. judge is going to sentence a woman who's been convicted on domestic abuse charges for repeatedly assaulting her ex- boyfriend. >> victim spoke to 9news now although he didn't want his face shown. he says the couple broke up after dating for several months and harassing phone calls quickly escalated into stalking and hitting. for two years he filed for protective orders to keep her away from his home, workplace and loved ones. he's even been attacked inside a courthouse. the ex-girlfriend could get up to 18 months in jail but she's only received suspended sentences and unspr viced probation for -- supervised probation for prior offenses. prince george's county police are holding two owe veentses connected -- two events connected to the murders two of high school students. there will be a meeting at oak creek community park. flyers from crime solvers will be passed out seeking information in the shooting of amber stanley. she was killed last month inside her kettering home. then at 7:00 a community meeting regarding the murder of

rakuel ross will take place at central high school. ross was shot two weeks ago while walking to school. police will be answering questions about that investigation. d.c. police will start once again alcohol tests on suspected drunk drivers. they'll start this friday. the program had been suspended for about two years. now a trained police operator will measure blood alcohol content as officers carry out annual arrest and officers will also conduct field sobriety tests. the program was suspended in 2010 after inaccurately calibrated equipment called into question hundreds of convictions. later this morning the national park service will announce the latest developments in its repair plans for the washington monument. the inside of the 555-foot tall monument has been closed since last year's earthquake caused cracks to form. they have chosen a contractor for the $15 million repair project. the repairs will require

massive scaffolding to be built around the monument. it will be closed until about 2014. it is going to be an interesting day for those of was have pepco as our electrical -- those of us who have pepco as our electrical provider. >> if the rank and file side with union leaders, a contract will be rejected setting the stage for a strike. 9news now reporter kristin fisher is live outside pepco headquarters with the story. the wind blowing in your hair, i hope it doesn't get any more brisk than what's happening now. >> reporter: no kidding, especially when take you a look at this contract. this is the contract. this is what pepco employees are voting on today. union leaders want them to reject it. they call it ridiculous but pepco calls this contract generous. they also call it their last best and final offer. so what happens to you, the pepco customer if this all does indeed end in a strike or a lockout?

well, pepco says that customers should not notice any change in their service or repairs if the workers do indeed walk out. they also say they have hundreds of contractors on standby ready to help in the event of severe weather. but union leaders disagree. they say their members are the ones who know how the pepco system works. they know how to keep your lights on, not the contractors. >> the contractors come and go. they don't have any connections to the community. they don't know our system. we have employees who have 30 and 35 years worth of service. i seriously doubt there's any contractor who has an employee that has ten years of service on the pepco system. >> reporter: the union's biggest concern with this contract is a change to its and welfare plan. the contract would allow pepco to essentially take control of those plans. it would eliminate seniority for promotions, things like that. pepco says the contract is fair and it's something that these two sides have been negotiating

for five months. it all comes to a head today. these union members have already started voting and they'll be continuing to vote throughout the day. the last vote can happen at about 6:00 so we probably won't know exactly what indeed is going to happen until the end of close of business today, possibly even tomorrow morning depending on how long it takes for them to count the votes. but if this does indeed end in a strike, it would be the first strike for pepco and its employees in 27 years. if there's any good news here, it's the fact that at least right now in the forecast, there's no signs of any big severe weather in the next week or so. so if there is a strike, hopefully bad weather won't come in. this could very much be a very big deal. first strike in 27 years potentially. we'll just have to wait till the end of business today to find out if it's a strike, a lockout or if the contract is approved. back to you.

>> kristin fisher live outside pepco headquarters. thank you, kristin. at 5:34, time for the next your money report now. >> jessica doyle is back with a rough outlook for the airlines and us, the passengers. >> that's right. don't say you haven't been warned. okay. it's not looking good. things aren't looking so good for airline passengers in the future. a new government report says consumers can expect fewer carriers to choose from, fewer flights to smaller cities and more baggage and other fees. you probably guessed this. the transportation department's inspector general says the airline industry is still in transition after a rough decade of bankruptcies and mergers. the report says reduced competition has airlines trying to offset higher costs by eliminating less profitable flights to smaller cities. and last year the industry tried 22 fare hikes, 11 stuck. so far this year we're at eight attempts and four successes so far. staples is getting smaller. it plans to close or shrink stores to cut costs and improve

profitability. they plan to trim retail square footage in north america by 15%. that includes closing 30 u.s. stores and downsizing or relocating another 30 locations by the end of this fiscal year. finally, the five richest cities in the country. "the wall street journal" crunched the numbers based on median income. at number one san jose, california at $77,000. san francisco comes in at number twofold by washington, washington, d.c. with $63,000. seattle and san diego came in at number five. >> it's interesting so many california cities are in the top five for richest when you hear about all the problems they're having. >> start-up culture, that's going to tip the scales in that direction. >> indeed. thanks, jess. you hate taking off your stews and belt when you through -- shoes and belt when you fly

through? there's a different option. we'll tell you about it. >> the university of virginia is known as a public ivy but one report says they're no slouch in the fun department either. we'll be back.

welcome back. it's a good idea to send the kids out to the bus stop this morning with a light sweater or maybe a sweat shirt. it's a little breezy this morning but mild temperatures. right now sitting in the 60s in and around the beltway. we have cloudy skies. we'll see some sunshine through midday and even early afternoon but have the umbrella handy, especially if you're going to be out after 5:00 p.m. some showers and even thunderstorms may roll on in through the region. here's a look at 270 southbound at route 118. literally within the last two minutes, cones and flares were moved out of the road at the accident scene and traffic is finally moving through the area. but look at ha it left for you at father hurley boulevard. very slow through germantown because of that earlier accident. i'll be back with more coming up in a few minutes at 5:48.

i've been combing through the day's daily deals, e-mails and retailer websites to find you some deep discounts and here are some of my favorites. hot yoga in tenleytown is offering a bunch of deals on classes. you'll get up to 6le% off your pick -- 68% off your pick of either a five or ten-pack of yoga classes. prices range from $30 for five classes to $550 for the unlimited option. this deal available on gilt city. body raise tanning and at the beach tanning will help you keep your summer look during the fall. they're offering up to 56% off air brush assistance or packages. you can find this deal now on groupon. who wants whiter teeth? smile sciences is offering its complete teeth whitennenning solution kit for just 29 bucks. this is 90% off.

regular price $299. this offer is available on daily deals.com. if you have an offer you've seen or you're a local merchant with a deal for our viewers, i would love to hear from ow facebook. i -- from you on facebook. i will send it over to andrea. remember when you didn't have to take off your jackets or shoes to get through airport screening? a new check point at dulles will allow some passengers to go through security a little faster. acts will scan the boarding pass of flyers interested in using the new check point. if they're eligible, travelers could move through security while still wearing jackets and shoes. flyers may not have to pull out their liquids or laptops. dulles is the first airport in the country to use this risk- based check point. according to "playboy" magazine, the nation's top party school just less than two hours away. the university of virginia. playboy editors awarded the points in three squatgoers: -- three categories: sex, sports and night life. the school officials say they

prefer to be known for academic achievements instead. the rest of the top five, universities in southern california, florida, texas, and wisconsin. >> i'm sure the parents love hearing that statistic. speaking of rankings, new poll numbers give the advantage to president obama in several key states. that story is coming up. >> plus, ski resort owners get excited as snow falls along the continental divide. >> it's birthday time. arizona governor jan brewer is 68. actress olivia newton john, fitness expert as well is 64. she's a native of salisbury, maryland actress linda hamilton is 56. >> because of the physical song? >> remember she had the whole line of fitness? >> i don't remember that. actor jim caviezel is 44. olympic champion serena

williams is 31 and former redskins linebacker steve houshmandzadeh is 35. we'll be right back. you. we know you. we know you have to rise early... and work late, with not enough sleep in between. how you sometimes need to get over to that exit, like, right now. and how things aren't...

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coming up on 5:46. is it raining anywhere in our viewing area? >> not really. we've calmed down completely. we saw the pop early on this morning. it was a small cell that moved very quickly to our east. now we're looking at overcast skies and mild conditions. we've been sitting in the 60s. middle to upper 60s inside the beltway but outside the beltway, some of those conditions are closer to 60, 61. when you add in that breeze, you're feeling a little bit after chill actually in some suburban locations. forecast for today is going to stay fairly calm and quiet, at least to start out through now through midday. we are in the clear. satellite and radar, although we're going to see some sunshine through midday will bring us more cloud cover this afternoon as the next system gets closer and closer. the bus stop forecast this morning is definitely going to stay on the cloudy side.

it will be about 9:00, 10:00 and we'll see these clouds really start to break up and get in some good midday sunshine. but for right now, we'll sit in the 60s at least until about the 8:00 hour. then our day planner for today is going to feature as i mentioned that sunshine moving on through, although we're starting out on the cloudy side. we will need to see the opportunity for cloud cover building in late in the day and that will increase our shower and thunderstorm chances. the chances aren't too great and it will be hit or miss but it's a good idea if you'll be out after the 5:00 hour. make sure you grab the umbrella with you this morning because you will need it. then into the thursday and even the friday forecast. we're going to have more opportunity to see late day showers and storms as well. here are the mild temperatures i was talking about. mainly in the 60s in and around town but we're starting to see the upper 50s to lower 60s the closer you get out toward that maryland and virginia border. we'll definitely see moisture move on in because our winds today are out of the southwest. we should keep them about 15 --

10 to 15 miles per hour. so basically a breezy start to your wednesday. the forecast for today starting at the 7:00 hour, i'm pausing it right here right about 5:00 this afternoon. that's when i think most of us will get the greatest opportunity to begin to see some moisture moving on through. then into the afternoon and evening hours, actually through the overnight we'll have mostly cloudy skies starting out tomorrow morning but the moisture tomorrow morning should move north of the beltway. then in the afternoon and evening hours, another pop up moisture starts to pull on in from the west. that will be a good opportunity for see some late day showers and once the cloudy conditions move on in, we'll hold on to this well through friday and into the weekend. so the forecast overall is looking i think the best for midday and late day as our temperatures will be the warmest on this wednesday. we'll get into the lower range 80s but code green today, tomorrow, and into friday. the seven-day forecast does feature a bit of a cooldown of the the next system moves on in

thursday into friday. brings us those north and northeast winds. that's going to hold us in the middle range to lower 70s around town. and a chance for showers each day. monika? we've got a couple of issues right now. on the west side of town and north side of town. i'll start off with this accident that just came n. you see the icon right here. it's northbound gw parkway on the ramp to the inner loop of the beltway. you know that ramp is a sharp turn there and it gets slippery really quickly. so it's an overturned vehicle right there on that ramp to the inner loop of the beltway. taking a look at 270 now on the southbound side where an accident in germantown after route 118 was cleared. just a few moments ago but left this slow traffic for you from father hurley boulevard at least heading down toward route 118 where the pace is beginning to improve. but it was there long enough to cause this early morning delay. let's go over to the other side of town on the bw parkway and route 50 if you're planning to head around this area through cheverly. you'll be fine. no issues into the northeast

corridor and a live look right now on the south side of town. beltway is looking good at route 4 pennsylvania avenue near andrews air force base. i'll be back with more on traffic coming up in a few minutes. back to you guys. in campaign 2012, both major presidential candidates are headed back to the battleground state of virginia tomorrow. president obama is scheduled to speak at farm bureau live in virginia beach. >> mitt romney is expected to hold an event for veterans at the american legion post 172346 spring field. he's hoping -- 176 in springfield. he's hoping to gain some momentum because the latest numbers in the polls not looking so good. >> reporter: by bus and by plane, for mitt romney and president obama, this election election come -- could come down to one state. >> oh. >> ohio. >> oh. >> ohio. >> reporter: ohio is one of the key scwing states in this election -- swing states in this election and today romney and president obama will be

battling it there. romney has some ground to make up. the poll just out this morning has president obama up ten points in the buckeye state. he and his -- he had a six- point lead before the convention. >> it didn't work. we don't like t. we're not going back. >> reporter: the numbers are similar in florida where the president now has a nine-point lead over romney. and in pennsylvania he's maintained a double digit advantage for a couple of months now. but it's ohio that's been the main focus of the campaign with president obama and his republican rival each making his 14th trip to the state. turn on a tv set in ohio and this is what you'll likely see during a commercial break. both campaigns spent more here than any other state. president obama and his allies have spent nearly $48 million on ads in the state since may 1. romney is not far behind. he and the super pack

supporting him have pumped in nearly $43 million. >> how in the world can people say they want four more years of president obama? we can't afford four more years of president obama. >> reporter: romney has been trying to make the case ledo a better job with the economy but in all three states the poll shows president obama leading on that issue. >> the path i offer is harder but it leads to a better place. i'm asking you to choose that future. >> reporter: romney does lead in one category. voters in those same states say he would do a better job on the deficit. tara mergener for cbs news, washington. making news now at 5:52, protests are intensifying in spain as government leaders are set to announce a new round of austerity measures tomorrow. last night demonstrations got so heated, police fired rubber bullets at the crowd. protesters are upset over cuts to health, education and salaries for public workers. two months after his death,

actor sherman hemsley still hasn't been laid to rest. there are those challenging his will and disagree with the executor over where he should be buried. hemsley said he had no family. the judge has now ordered d.n.a. tests in the case. we may have enjoyed some cooler weather but it's already snowing in parts of colorado. while denver got rain last night the appropriately named summit county and other places in higher elevations saw a few inches of snow. a warm-up there even is expected by the weekend. >> no kidding. pepco line crews could vote today on a strike against the utility company. that story is coming up. >> plus. the researchers uses tiny cameras to record exactly what happened when cats wander outdoors. jess? >> think your credit report looks pretty good? that doesn't mean you and your lender are looking at the same numbers. that could cost you money. i'll explain coming up at 6:07. you're watching 9news now.

welcome back. if you own a cat, you hope your pet comes home after wandering out at night. a researcher is finding out exactly what the felines have been doing thinks to kitty cams. >> reporter: amy has three cats who roam outdoors. she thought she knew them. now she knows them better than

she cares to. >> i knew his favorite place to go was down in the storm suer. now i know what it looks like. >> reporter: they recruited booker t. for a project to expose the secret lives of outdoor house cats. when lloyd equipped booker t. with a video camera attached to a collar, the cat obliged with an infrared tour of the neighborhood storm sewer. >> kind of frightening. i wish wee never go down there again. >> reporter: lloyd said she gathered more than 2000 hours of kitty cam footage, much of it framed on top by the animal's fuzzy chin and wiry whiskers. they stalked their neighbors' chickens, camped out on cars, had unnerving nighttime encounters with woodland creatures. and they stalked prey. lloyd says her cameras documented dozens of encounters

between cats and slower moving critters, oftentimes resulting in the cat cheerfully relocating its victim. >> most left their prey. they would capture the prey and maybe play with it for a minute and leave it close to the side of capture rather than bring it home as a gift for the owners. >> reporter: lloyd says the research has a point. to show cat owners what their cats really do outdoors and to strongly suggest that indoor cats leave less perilous lives. >> we were surprised to see 80% of our sample of 60 cats experienced at least one arrive behavior while roaming over a week. we felt that was a pretty high percentage. >> reporter: the cameras told stories and in the case of archie, a striped tabby, it exposed a double life beyond amy's property line. >> got another family. >> they held open the door from. he walked in. then he just hung out in their house. i feel like one of those women on the talk show. my husband has two wives. my cat has two families.

>> reporter: peggy fox, 9news now. >> he cheated. >> amazing. oh my goodness. most people think birds or small mammals are the most common prey of cats but dr. lloyd says her research shows reptiles were their favorite catch for cats that hunt. yikes. >> that was amazing video. >> i'm not a cat fan. >> that was fun to watch. >> you said it was better than even national geographic. that was really funny. that was funny. thank you for watching 9news now at 6:00 a.m. we hope you have a good day. i'm andrea roane. >> hello, kitty. i'm mike hydeck. thanks for joining us. you know they're watching. cats watch tv. good morning, monika. >> one of those hazards in the morning is when you see a cat dart across the street. i'm always worried about that. do we have anything to worry about in weather? >> weather looks pretty calm this morning. at least we're starting out on the calm side. weld